By KYIV. May 4 (Interfax-Ukraine) – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the creation of an international tribunal for the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
“The crime of aggression has led to others. This is the beginning of evil. It is possible to achieve responsibility for it only with the help of the tribunal. Initiating an aggressive war is an international crime, which is distinguished by the fact that it contains the evil of all other crimes,” he said, speaking in The Hague on Thursday with an address dubbed “There is no peace without justice in Ukraine.”
Zelenskyy called for “transforming the experience of the Nuremberg Tribunal into new operational rules.” “We want to continue the tradition of mandatory punishment for the crime of aggression – as a guarantee not to repeat such aggression. If we want justice, we should not look for excuses, we should not refer to the shortcomings of existing international law. Instead, we must make bold decisions that will correct these shortcomings. This is what the initiators of Nuremberg had in mind,” he said.
According to Zelenskyy, “this is what we must do now – for us, for you and for all peoples. Otherwise, it will become a sign of weakness.”
“I want to call on the world: don’t be afraid. The aggressor must feel the full depth of justice,” he said.
According to the President, “the Ukrainian court can ensure responsibility for most of the crimes committed by the occupiers.” “But only one institution is able to respond to the crime of aggression. This is a tribunal, not something hybrid. It will formally close the topic, but it will be a compromise,” the president said, stressing: “We must have a full-fledged tribunal and full-fledged justice.”
“We cannot allow either a ‘hybrid’ immunity or a ‘hybrid’ peace associated with the suspension of hostilities. Justice and fairness are what we need, not hybrid forms,” he said.
“We all want to see another Vladimir here. Someone who deserves to be convicted for criminal acts. And it should be done here, in the capital of international law,” the President of Ukraine said.
